#Hopefully they've learned to pace it better

[moni-harmonia]

I can’t believe Sumeru is just about a week away. While it’s true that I look at some leaks I’m mainly interested in knowing what the future banners are gonna be so that I can save primogems when I need to. I haven’t actually seen the Sumeru trailers because I want to explore and discover everything about it myself.

I did read some interesting info, like Tighnari being added to the standard in the 3.1 update. That’s great but I’m wondering if that means beginners will be able to acquire Dendro materials at the beginning of the game. Imagine if you start playing during 3.0 and you get Tighnari and/or Collei, or any Dendro character after that, how are you supposed to level them up or get them Dendro artifacts if you can’t get to Sumeru? There has to be some way right? We’ll see I guess.

There’s also the fact that 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2 will be a week shorter. I’m happy about this because it means we’re gonna get back into the intended schedule after 2.7 got delayed. I understand some people may have wanted those 3 extra weeks to save more primogems, but I’m more interested in getting the characters I want ASAP lol

[cevansbrat0007]

Do trio daddies ever let their brats TRY to be in control in the bedroom one time?

They do, every now and again. But neither Ari, Curtis, or Andy ever play fair with their ladies.

Part of what makes the girls such dedicated brats is that they've learned through a lot of trial and error how to deal with their men. They have to be very careful about choosing their wording or phrasing.

Because their Daddies are good for giving them exactly what they ask for - nothing more, nothing less. You wanna be in charge? Fine.

Ari will let you put him in handcuffs. But he never said he wouldn't slip them. You want him trussed up with silk scarves? Okay. He'll let you suck him off until he rips them in two.

Curtis will lay back and let you fuck him - all because you want to be on top. But once you set the pace, you had better keep it. Because he's not gonna help you when you get tired. Unless you beg him like the needy slut that you are.

Andy will let you sit on his face and ride his tongue until you cum without a single complaint. But if you fail to specify the exact number of orgasms you need to feel satisfied then, well...be prepared to scream yourself hoarse. Hopefully you stocked up some aloe vera gel to deal with all that beard burn.

[woodsfae]

Babylon 5 S03E20 And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place previous episode - table of contents

It's kinda wild how much b5 is exactly to my tastes. Take this (and many other!) episode titles for example. Pretentious? Maybe. Poetic? Certainly. Full of allusion? Definitely. Makes me get shivers? Absolutely.  They even give me things to complain about. I'm well settled into complaining loudly about Londo bullshit.

Last episode's beverage (for data point purposes) was straight tequila with pepsi chaser. The hangover was vile and I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep for three hours. Today's beverage - Bitterroot Brewing Co "Dirt Church" ipa. It's alright for an IPA.

"Z MINUS 14 DAYS"

I see we've moved several letters on from "t."

Yeah!! It's another Susan Ivanova personal log episode. The telepaths they've recruited are being dispersed. Sheridan is tired, and Franklin is still pacing the halls. 

All the telepaths are being accompanied by a single Narn bodyguard. Fingers crossed for some of those bodyguards to start developing some telepathy of their own after spending a long time in close quarters with a telepath!!

Londo thinks it's time to "take care of" G'Kar?? FUCK OFF.  He wants G'Kar tricked back to Narn and executed. Thanks to the previous flashbacks, I am well aware that this plot won't play out with G'Kar's actual death. But I still want to strangle Londo. Can I isekai into B5 just long enough to goddamn murder that man?? 

Religious Theo of the religious group whatevever is being highlighted this episode. In theory I appreciate how diverse B5 is, religiously speaking. In practice....ehhh. At least when it comes to people quoting the KJV and referring to "the lord" every other sentence. 

Sheridan does look rough. And there's Delenn!!! Pretty in pink. 

"[Ivanova] said you were carrying on cranky. I looked up cranky, it said grouchy. I looked up grouchy, it said crochetly. No wonder you have such an eccentric culture. None of your words have their own meaning!" 

LOL!! Delenn is so cute. Also, very seriously, I apologize to every person who needs to learn English as an adult. It's a mess. 

Once I saw a gif of Delenn propping herself up on a elbow in bed with Sheridan and I have been FERAL to see that scene ever since. Maybe today will be the episode? Delenn climbs in bed with Sheridan to make him sleep??

Na'Toth might be alive. Or her name might simply be a trap for G'Kar. I don't think Londo's plan is going to work out. If he didn't go back to Narn for literally every other Narnuan, I'm not sure he'd go back for his aide who is probably dead. Also I 100% have more faith in Vir than this. Idk where he got them, but he has a surprisingly well-developed set of morals and empathy. 

Vir: "I won't. I won't go. I won't do it."

VIR BABY. Just say you'll do it, then go and collude and G'Kar. Londo is unhinged, threatening to have Vir's family stripped naked and whipped through the streets of Centaur's capital. What a fuck. He ought to be directing his energies towards getting back Lord Whatshisface who killed Adira on behalf of the Shadows. Refa. The show reminds me in a timely manner. 

Speaking of Refa, he's giving very desperate vibes. Trying too hard to suck up, and that puts blood in the water for the sharks to scent!!

Well. Hopefully even if Vir gives into Londo's threat and tries to trick G'Kar, his obvious nerves give away that something's wrong. 

Back to Londo and the Centauri court shenanigans. Londo is, undeniably, good at putting on the type of political front that works well on Centaur. 

Susan's blowout is so good every day I have to assume it's part of the high-tech auto-dryer when you step out of the shower...or something. Because there's no way that SUSAN IVANOVA is spending twenty minutes every day achieving the most ideal blowout that has ever been hair-dried into existence. 

OK I like the religious cabal a bit better now that I know they're smuggling up-to-date information about Earth politics into Bably 5. 

GODDANG IT. G'Kar is trying to sneak back onto Narn. Well. At least I know he lives to die another day. 

Vir, I am disappointed in. 

Centaur attack on Vir!! He lives to become Emperor another day as well. Stakes drop considerably when you know certain characters' ultimate fates. 

You know who I'd love to see again? AUNT PROPHETESS! Majel!! 

Lord Refa's eyebrows deserve their own acting credit. 

oooh, Centauri telepathy attack!! 

Poor Vir. If only he had been able to keep his position on Minbar. He looked less stressed-out when he was spending most of his time surrounded by a tranquil environment. 

The Baptist pastor is hanging out with Sheridan, who is struggling to relax enough to fall asleep while also doing paperwork. Maybe. don't do paperwork while getting ready for bed. Which the pastor is also bringing up, more delicately than I would. 

the Pastor: DELEGATE IDIOT.

OK he can stay. He is speaking common sense. 

"When youre worry tank gets full people stop coming to you, because they don't want to add to it." 

Smart. "figure out how to relax or your people will stop reading you in in an attempt to protect you." 

"Z MINUS 13 DAYS"

Zha'ha'dum minus 13 days?? 

G'Kar made it to Narn. There's climate change from the orbital bombardment. Constant wind, particulate coming down from the upper atmosphere, poor air quality. And I doubt they had recovered from the previous Centauri occupation, and possibly not even the Shadows' occupation before that! 

Emperor Cartagia is going to be traveling to B5: that seems like a significant security risk! Maybe he'll get nerfed and we'll see the glorious ascension on Emperor Londo. 

Refa's plot is to capture G'Kar instead of letting Londo do it. Fingers crossed for neither of them getting that glory. 

Delenn says there's no pattern to the Shadows' attacks. The lack of pattern is probably the point - all over the place and unpredictable so the united forces are spread as thin and widely as possible. And the tactical data sorta supports that! They haven't attacked anything in the center of the sector, so refugees are going there. And Sheridan is picking this up now, too. They could nail all the refugees at once. 

"I think this is as much about terror as it is about territory." 

Yeah. 

Hm, Delenn is horrified by Sheridan saying he needs to think like them to beat them. Unless she has a really compelling argument against it, I'm going to have to disagree. How can you counter a tactic unless you understand it? 

Londo just knocked out a Centauri guard with a punch to rescue Vir. He gets no points from me, because he put Vir in that position. 

Unfortunately G'Kar won't get to kill Londo for quite a few years, but maybe he and the resistance will get to kill Refa and his goon squad instead. 

Damn it, Londo was two steps ahead of Refa this whole time. f.ucking annoying. Well. all Centauri warmongering genocidal politics are annoying. Refa being personally in charge of the bombardment of Narn is backfiring on his right now. 

Oh so this means that Vir was an unwitting stooge in the plot all along, and that's extra scummy, considering it resulted in Vir being mindraped and made to believe he'd just given up his mentor and employer. Very very cutthroat politics. No wonder Londo didn't name the embarassment he was planning to remove on behalf of the emperor to prove House Mollari's value. 

Baptist Pastor brought a gospel singer along with him, lol. That's very on brand. And super fucking amusing juxtaposition between her music and Refa being pursued and killed. "There's no hiding place down here." Refa being beaten to death. 

Buuuut as much as I dislike Londo, I am a fan of the person responsible for untold suffering and death getting a tiny fraction of that delivered back to them. So...annoyingly... *sigh* go Londo...

It's so fucking funny that Londo had the ability to slip refa the other half of the two-part poison all along but instead he had him beaten to death for political purposes. 

Vir is angry, but probably not enough to make him break from Londo entirely. 

Delenn has a surprise for Sheridan - "the White Star was never intended to be one of a kind, only the first..." and now there's a whole fleet. 

Hm. As far as first kisses on screen go, that one was pretty dated. I'm happy for them, but the "smear your face against the other person's face" is a style I'm glad has mostly gone away. It doesn't look very pleasant, hahah. 

Mrs Sheridan, I presume?

[f1-birb]

watching people count out mclaren based off piastri's tyre degradation during his race sim and just. i know media was trying to push the narrative that lando needed to be worried and oscar was right there with him in pace and was nearly flawless last year, but this was a major weakness of his that hardly anyone actually wanted to acknowledge. until we see lando do a comprehensive long run and struggle to this extent, i'm not believing that the mclaren is just utterly hopeless.

thing is though, Oscar's two main 'weaknesses' last year in comparison to Lando were his race pace and his tyre management

Lando's actually so good with his tyres, often even where the mcl just naturally suffers from high tyre deg, that it made it even more apparent at particular circuits, and we saw multiple times Lando was lapping faster, and also at times lapping faster and still preserving the tyres which is completely normal! last year was Lando's 5th season and Oscar's first, tyre management especially is something drivers learn with time and experience so I'm sure with how talented he is Oscar will be better at managing them this year

I would bring up Qatar but I like being alive

and as you also pointed out, Lando's not done any real, comprehensive long runs to be able to properly compare the two of them, or for us to really truly be able to get a measure of the car across a typical tyre life-race distance

Bahrain is also known for being a circuit that's very rough/coarse and causes high deg, it's why they've all been saying we'll likely be seeing C1/C2 and only really C3 in quali

and you're not silly/delusional/daft/hopeful at all, testing is a measure but it's not a true representation - there's a reason the phrase "sandbagging" exists. I don't think any team has EVER fully shown what the car is capable of during testing because why would you ruin any upper hand you might have? similarly with free practices, you don't know what set ups, programs, fuel loads, run plans people are using, testing is for teams to gather whatever they want to gather

even during the race, you can't get the true measure of a car from one circuit because they're all different, either surface or corner style or straight length, etc. You can get an idea of where the car might suit, but not until we're a few races in and as always in this sport: shit happens

so even if it's a circuit that may not suit, crashes, collisions, punctures, electrical/technical faults, etc can all come out of nowhere and change the odds

I'm just glad despite the blips, testing seems to be going a lot better than last year and that we hopefully won't have to wait for a b-spec car to save our season 😭

[gunkreads]

S2E2 thoughts:

Perrin was having a grand ol' Shienaran adventure, and arguably a pretty fucking good time, until. Y'know. I love how hard they're kicking his whole ass off already. Perrin is a character who's most interesting when he's both miserable and forced into action, and this season is setting that up well so far.

Mat? Chef's kiss. Min bromance is a great way to start off, honestly, and gives her something grittier to do than be Elmindreda. That arc wouldn't work either with her modified show characterization (much more world-weary) nor with the overall tone of the show (much less Looney Tunes). Also, the much-gifsetted "shut, latch, lock, bolt, walk away" thing was stellar. The show is retooling Mat to be more of a legit rogue rogue, rather than just The Most Stressed Man Alive, and it's a pretty neutral choice to me. It's still fun, just different. I like new Mat, just not any more or less than old Mat.

Elayne? Very fun introduction, appropriately cringe. Elayne is a cringe type girl and they did not disappoint. She doesn't know what type of story she's in yet! She thinks she's in, like, Arthuriana (which, technically...) but no! She's about to learn just how hard Sheriam swings. Hopefully she stays silly, because god knows this show could use it. The grittier the show gets, the more ridiculous I expect Elayne to be, because she's truly THE iconic clown.

Nynaeve? Well... once I got over my confusion about the completely new plotline for Liandrin, I thought Nynaeve's presence in this episode was kind of lame. I think I kind of miss the very kinetic way she was kicked around the Tower in the books; the show seems to be taking it a lot slower and more seriously, which is just much less fun for me. It's not.... bad. I just really liked the wacky shenaniganery in the Tower in TGH.

Egwene? More Class President vibes, kinda like it. It's not 100% a direction I'd have chosen, but it seems to capture a type of character trajectory that I feel can cross all the same important themes that I liked of hers from the books. On Egwene's note, actually, I've noticed that they're really trading a lot of the Wonder Girls' red-faced shouting for more... I don't wanna say "whining", but like... griping and moping. It's not bad, it's just much less intense. Again, the show is so much less slapstick than the books, especially around the Wonder Girls, so this is just tone compensation.

Moiraine and Lan? Whatever, I honestly don't give half a shit about what they have going on. Their scenes are entertaining in a vacuum, but I sure as shit was never waiting for the episode to cut back to them. I guess the writers are trying to carry over the whole Stepin nonsense from S1 and use it as a setup for this, but the problem is that Moiraine and Lan's early-S2 arc makes Stepin redundant. They're just doing it again, but twisting it this time. I get that it's supposed to make this one more poignant, but... fuck, I'm not doing my Stepin rant again.

Rand? meeeeeeehhhhhhhhh. The in media res opener didn't really do it for me. I like the mental hospital choice, I like the Selene setup, I like the way they're pacing the madness moments by letting Josha do all the heavy lifting. Seriously, actually, the way they have his madness episodes build up so subtly, as if it's just Rand making conscious decisions, then have it all explode and become clear is really good. On the other hand, I can't actually give too much credit to the Selene setup, since I don't think they've established Rand as a person enough for a new viewer to realize how out-of-character he's acting. I blame the Stepin arc.

Alvaro Morte? Still the MVP.

Two episodes in, S2 is doing a frankly comedically better job pacing its different plotlines than S1 did. It's actually embarrassing to look back at S1 and realize how fucked to death the pacing was.

And yadda yadda, this is one of the best-looking, highest-quality, best-acted shows I've seen in actual decades or maybe ever. In terms of overall production quality, I feel like Elayne if they hadn't taken all her pillows away.

[wishbonegame]

hellooo, i have been following your project for what like two or three years now idk, and i'm delighted to keep reading all your updates. anyway you mentioned that you decided to trim the fat and try to speed up the pacing of the game, and i have to say, WELL DONE with keeping an eye on your scale and such! you said the game as it was would still take longer than most typical jrpgs, which scares me a bit because i've poured a good 100 hours into some jrpgs, so uh. how long was your original 1/2

That's a good question... we'd initially aimed for the game to be somewhere around 40 hours, maybe 50, and had planned the in-game timescale with that goal in mind.

...The fatal oversight was that that calculation didn't take into consideration the cutscene events, which can be quite long and have the in-game clock paused during them. When our playtesters played the first season of the game, we found that, counting cutscenes, they were averaging more like 8-10 hours to get to the end of the Spring Year 1 demo. With 4 seasons per year and 3 years in the game, that would result in an estimated playtime of a whopping 96-120 hours.

The new plan is for the game to be a more condensed and optimized 2 years in length, which means an updated estimated playtime of 64-80 hours. So still pretty dang big, but much more manageable, and with the major plot events happening at a faster clip it'll hopefully not drag too much and bore people. Also, those estimates are all assuming that average players play as thoroughly as our debuggers/playtesters... realistically, very few of them probably will, especially in the latter parts of the game once they've unlocked just about everything, accomplished most of their major goals, and settled into a routine.

This project has certainly been an exercise in learning to set realistic goals, hah. I think that taking an axe to the plot document and cutting down some of the particularly bloated features is something that we should have done a lot earlier, but the game is certainly better for it. Overall, very little completed work had to be thrown out, though a few things needed to be retooled (which is what I've been quietly working on for the last few weeks), which was nice. I've been very pleased with the direction the project has been going since that decision has been made.

Thanks for the kind words, Anon!

[spookyrus-writes-sometimes]

Amphibia was incredible.

I wasn't going to give it a chance at first. The premise was silly to me, and the few season 1 episodes I caught now and then didn't do anything for me. But I heard talk and saw fan art, saw that so many people loved these characters dearly, and that pushed me to see the show through. And I am so glad that I did.

The story of Anne, Sasha, and Marcy's relationship is so real and so near and dear to my heart. The tragedy of their imperfect love for each other is beautiful, and that alone made me fall in love with this show. That all three would do anything for each other, whether it's make terrible mistakes or change for the better, is the true love that I so desperately long to experience. They're cartoon characters, but they're written so real. They're so, so important to me.

Of course there are things that I would have done differently, and things that I wish could have been explored more. I feel that a number of the slice of life episodes drag, especially in season 1, and it hurts the show's pacing. I vehemently loathe season 3's aversion to addressing Sasha and Marcy until it's their time to show up for the plot. I feel that Darcy was severely underutilized. I wish we could have seen more of Sasha and Marcy's calamity powers. I wish we had seen more of Andrias's relationship with Leif and Barrel. I really don't like that the day was saved by a plot device only introduced in the final episode.

And I never, EVER would have written an ending as tragic as the one we got. I'm afraid of unhappy endings, of leaving things unresolved or on an unidealistic note. Of course we all wish that the worlds hadn't been cut off. It hurts to know that Anne will never get to see Sprig and Polly grow up, that Grime will never get to see just how far Sasha has come, that Marcy will never get to have the familial relationship with Olivia and Yunan that they deserved. It's especially hard to know that even after everything they've been through together, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy still drifted apart. It's so, so hard to say goodbye. So hard to accept that not everything gets a perfect, happy ending, wrapped up in a neat little bow. That sometimes things change, not always for the better, and all you can do is remember and move on.

It's not a perfect ending. But in a lot of ways, I feel it's the perfect ending for Amphibia.

Amphibia is not and was never an escapist fantasy. It's clearly a story very personal to its creator, one that aims to share some of the hard truths he's learned in his life. Amphibia is a story about love and loss and how those things change you, how you improve and become stronger for those you love, and what you'll give for them. But it doesn't try to convince us that love can conquer anything, because it can't. Sometimes, no matter how hard it is, you have to say goodbye. I think that's a really important lesson, not just for the audience, but for the characters.

Anne will never forget Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop, and they'll never forget her. They changed each other for the better, and their lives are better for it, even if they can't be together anymore. Maybe Anne, Sasha, and Marcy didn't get to be together forever, maybe life led them in different directions, but their love for each other still made them better people. And maybe it's enough to know that despite everything, no matter how far apart they are, their love will always find each other.

And if that isn't enough, well, we'll always have fan fiction.

I know that my passion for this show will fade, just like it did for all the shows before it. But I will never forget the feelings Amphibia made me feel, and I truly believe that Reunion, (especially) True Colors, and The Hardest Thing will go down as some of my all-time favorite episodes of television. I know that the story of Amphibia is one that will change my approach to storytelling, and hopefully me as a person, for the better.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, to both Matt Braly and the crew and all the fan creators who got me invested, for Anne, Sasha, and Marcy. And to Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, Grime, Olivia, Yunan, and Andrias, goodbye, and thank you for all the awesome adventures.

[maranello]

fio is op right about the whole 'ferrari aren't expected to be here thing'?? like I get we were bad last season but this surely isn't good enough? thank you

https://footyleclerc.tumblr.com/post/664677871518875648/listen-ik-were-annoyed-at-the-team-the-non

Ferrari itself has reportedly said that their fight is with the McLarens and that even with the new engine, the Mercedes and Red Bulls are still out of reach. So in that sense, OP is right about how it's not Ferrari's expectation to be in contention for the podium or more most of the time, nor do they want fans to be under the impression that that's where their benchmark is.

Sure, we do tend to believe they can do better and expect better, but on the whole, the car just is not good enough to be properly challenging the Mercedes and Red Bulls consistently. Because, you're right, we were bad last season, and this season, we're going in with limited improvements on last year's car. It's already tremendous what they were able to do to pull the car up to be fighting for P3 in the constructor's championship, despite the fact they couldn't do much about the power deficit the SF1000 had. Other teams have taken a lot longer to come back up when they've been hit hard like McLaren or Williams. So I think it's already great that the turnaround was so quick for Ferrari, and that's why people are saying Ferrari aren't expected to be up there.

At the moment, with the tools available to the team/drivers, we can't expect them to be challenging for the podium. But I think the more races we do with PU4, the more we will see from it, and I have a feeling we'll be soon in better shape to challenge for podiums more and more as we progress. (After all, we do want to make sure the PU lasts until the end!) Or at the very least, be consistently best of the rest, and when Mercedes or Red Bulls falter, capitalize on the opportunity to do more. I think for this race we did expect more because they showed such promising pace in practice, Lewis had a grid penalty, and Charles was starting P3. Unfortunately, this race just did not go at all the way we were expecting it to. (I.e. Charles' set up was optimized for a dry race. I genuinely think he would have had way more pace if we had a dry race, and it kills me that we were deprived of the chance to see that.)

But at the same time, you're right. It isn't good enough. Frankly speaking, anything less than winning isn't good enough. Ferrari wants to be at the front, and Charles is clearly motivated to win, even now. In the grand scheme of things, this year is a dead loss, so I don't feel too badly when I remember that. (I am mostly just frustrated for Charles being underappreciated for his performance this season for the lack of results that do him justice.) We can afford to make mistakes and learn from them this year. P3 in constructors' honestly doesn't even matter, it's just a good target for the team to work towards and stay motivated while the people at Maranello work on the 2022 car. Then, hopefully, it will be good enough :)

[maverick-werewolf]

6 & 13 for the writing ask 🐺

Thank you for asking! 🥰 I appreciate so much everyone who sends me something for the ask memes I post. :D

(for those of you waiting on your own asks, don't worry; this will be my last writing ask meme response, so I can get back to answering my regular asks!)

6. are your projects driven more by character or plot?

Character, absolutely. I work very hard on my plots, and I'm very happy with how they've all turned out, but the characters are always what drive them forward. Characters are the soul of my writing, and I consider them my most important aspect, despite how hard I work on every facet (plot, lore, etc). I'm very proud of my characters and I'm very happy with who and what they've grown into over the years of my work on them and how much I've gotten to explore them. All I hope is that someday I can better put them out there for more people to discover and, hopefully, enjoy even a fraction as much as I enjoy them. My characters are everything to me.

13. describe your writing style.

Characterized, cinematic, and emotional.

I write close third-person past tense, and I always do all I can to convey feeling, emotion, and the humanity of the characters. Each point of view is a different character specifically, and that will affect the way the narration itself is written - and how they see and understand the world. I ground my stories by asking: how would someone really feel in this situation? What does this character know and not know? I try to write my stories as if they were movies, conveying a sense of location and atmosphere, of color and style, while never dwelling too much on those things and keeping the characters always moving forward, even in quiet moments of contemplation. I’m very much inspired by classic cinema and even some video games in terms of my pacing, allowing lulls in the action for thought but never letting them last too long before the excitement - or the horror - fires up once more.

I take the reader on a journey with my characters. The characters learn and grow and explore the world with the reader. They aren’t coming into this knowing everything while the reader knows nothing. You learn with them. I show, not tell.

My stories are written with biased narrators. Most of the time, you’ll have to also be thinking: what is this character telling you in their narration that they might not want you to know? That they are injecting their personal opinions on? Is their enemy really that wrong, or is the narrator just throwing their opinions into the subject? Is that scene really that beautiful, or horrible, and are the character’s emotions getting in the way of something that’s going on?

I like to think my writing style is if movies could be books/if books could be movies - with the excitement and characterization and immediacy that film brings alongside the closeness to the characters, the biased narrators, and the carefully chosen word choice that literature allows.

I guess some of this might sound arrogant, but I suppose describing one’s writing style in a positive way always will. This is, at least, what I’m aiming to achieve with my writing. I’m seriously trying to cut back on self-negativity, because I do that too much and it’s incredibly unhealthy, and I’m being taught to recognize and curb that (everyone else should, too! Even the tiniest things can help so much).

[broadwaytheanimatedseries]

Once Upon A Time, In A Far Away Land... - AU:

The legend says that King Raymond, then still a Prince and an adventurer, went to find the terrible threat known as the dragon witch, that has been rumored to have hurt innocent people and was the cause of great distress for a long time. What he found was a lovely, beautiful woman with charm and wit and a heart of gold, who's reputation had been tainted by those who tried to steal from her and payed the price when she defended herself.

It was then and there that the king decided he would do anything to make her happy.

Many years later, and the two married and had a family together. Three beautiful boys. Two of them ordinary looking twins, and the younger one seemingly half dragon and half human.

Now of course not everyone in the kingdom was immediately on board with their new queen, not did they all approve of the princes, especially the young one. But eventually, most of them came around, or at the very least knew better than to voice their negative opinions.

The years pass and the children grow up. Roman and Remus learn magic and swordsmanship, both being more talented in the latter, and they go on lots of adventures, both together and separately.

while Drake learns all that and more, doing his best to perfect all his skills but being especially talented in magic. he wants to be able to always have the right answers, to never be caught unprepared.

Unfortunately, he is caught very unprepared.

One day, while adventuring in a part of the woods rumored to be overtaken by the misfits and rebels of the kingdom, Roman and Remus are caught in one of their traps.

"well well well, a couple of trespassers." A hooded figure teased, eyes lighting up in amusement.

"those are no ordinary trespassers! It seems we're in the company of royalty!" Replied a man with glasses who didn't seem that mean compared to the hooded figure.

"Vee did good job with those traps, I gotta hand it to him." Said the woman among them, sounding pleasantly surprised.

The twins were too weak from their previous fight to do much, and they could only stare angrily as they waited for one of the rebels to speak.

Finally, the woman gave an order.

"R, Em, escort our guests. I'll go tell boss the wonderful news."

Hours later, as Drake was pacing in his room and his parents were sitting in the throne room patiently waiting for news on the whereabouts of their sons, all knowing it isn't like them to disappear for this long without giving a proper warning.

Finally, a message came, from the leader of the forest dwellers.

"if you wish to see your sons, there are matters to discuss. I will come to the forest's entrance every night for the next three days. Send a representative, they must come alone. We shall see if we can come to an agreement that's favorable for both sides. Should you fail to accept this offer, we will have no choice but to keep the princes as our prisoners. Their transgressions can not go unpunished, but perhaps theit unfortunate mistake can bring about a new era, for all those who deserve a better life.

Sincerely, P. Sanders"

Drake couldn't sleep that night, knowing that his parents had no intention listening to the rebels' wishes. He couldn't help but worry what his life would be like without his brothers. He didn't like the idea of it, not one bit.

So that night, after tossing and turning in his bed for hours, he decided to do something he never thought he'd do in his life.

He snuck out of the castle to disobey his parents.

He went to the entrance of the forest to speak to the leader of the rebels. The man he saw before him, however, was not at all what he expected.

Patton Sanders has been fighting ever since he could remember himself. He was hardly the first rebel to find shelter in these woods, but with all the elders that had raised him having passed away, he became the new leader. It wasn't an easy job, but it was rewarding, and someone has to do it. He couldn't let all these poor people go without any help, not when he knew from personal experience how hard it was to survive in the kingdom for anyone who couldn't be born or marry into nobility, and who couldn't fit into whatever narrow path was set up for them.

So to see that the king and queen sent their youngest son to negotiate was... puzzling, to say the least. After all, you'd think at least one of them would want to show up to discuss a way to get their sons back.

But when he saw the prince's nervous body language, he suspected he knew what was really going on.

"greetings, Mr Sanders." the young prince gave a small bow.

~at least he cares enough to show up and be formal about it.~ Patton thinks and decides that he can allow himself to be a little nice.

"please, Mr Sanders was my father. You can just call me Patton, your highness."

"oh, alright. Well then I suppose you can address me as Drake, if you wish."

There was a moment of uneasy silence before Drake decided he'll cut to the point.

"so what is it that you want in exchange for my brothers' safe return?"

"simply put? Justice."

Drake raised an eyebrow, not in judgement or mockery but in confusion. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be a bit more specific."

"why is it, you think, that generations of outcasts and misfits have sought shelter in these woods? Have you considered why we'd need to seek shelter from our own kingdom?"

Drake had a few ideas, but by the look on his face they troubled him too much to express.

Patton sighed in sympathy and decided to say it himself, as he had many times before, to save the young prince (who actually was about Patton's age, although the leader looked older due to all that he's had to endure) the embarrassment.

"the kingdom is under attack from within itself. The rich and powerful are attacking the poor and helpless, by not extending to them the aid they need in order to just barely survive, let alone thrive as the nobles do. And your parents have been complacent, content to let the broken system that benefits them go on as it always had. All I want is equality. To be provided with what we need to survive and to be allowed to exist however we choose, be given the same freedom the nobles have that we had to escape from the kingdom into the forest to find. That is all the rebels have ever wanted, and it is all I ask."

Drake listens carefully, studying Patton's face for any deception or insincerity, and finds none. He sighs, tiredly, heavily.

"you know my parents didn't send me, don't you?"

"I figured as much, yes."

"so you understand this is gonna be hell on earth for me, trying to accomplish what you're asking of me, against their wishes, right?"

"indeed, but considering your choice of words, it sounds to me like you've already joined the cause."

"...unfortunately, yes." Drake couldn't help but agree. He knew it was dangerous, and would take expert planning, and would be downright impossible to achieve, but besides the fact that it was the only way to get his brothers back without starting an unnecessary war with the peaceful forest dwellers, it was also the right thing to do. And besides, Patton was very cute- convincing! Drake had meant convincing, he insisted to himself, unconvincingly. Yes the irony of that is not lost on him.

Meanwhile, At the rebels' campsite, the twin princes were surprised to find that aside from the occasional jab or tease, they were being treated rather respectfully. Sure their hands were tied to ensure they couldn't escape but they were treated more like guests rather than prisoners. In fact, they were treated like equals, which has never happened to them before. Their parents treated them like kids and, although they tried to be subtle about it, so did a lot of the older nobles, and everyone else treated them like royalty, which they were. But this was the first time they've ever had a normal conversation with people who saw them as equals.

Roman was a bit huffy at first, insisting he be treated with the respect worthy of a prince, only to be met with laughter and eye rolls. "there aren't any classes here, you're no better than anyone else. Better get used to it, Princey." said a figure standing completely in shadow, though his eyes almost glistened in the darkness, the fire reflecting off them. "let him whine, Vee. It's all he's got now." the woman he now knew as Valerie teased, and the only reason he let her get away with it is because she had bested him in combat earlier that day, when he made a daring escape attempt. Seeing as she proved herself a fierce warrior, she had his begrudging respect. But then he heard the shadowed figure chuckle in response, and the sound evoked many different emotions in him, so he decided to focus on annoyance and anger. "so, you're the Vee in charge of the cowardly contraption that ensnared my brother and I." Roman could see the eyes squint as they looked him up and down, and then a smug smirk spread across the shadow's face. "the very same. Pretty neat trick, isn't it?" "I don't know what you think is so impressive about a machine made by a man too weak and scared to best his enemies face to face." "it's efficient, and it takes a hell of a lot more wit and talent than waving a sword around like a reckless idiot." the shadow bit back, sounding very defensive. Roman would have been prouder to have gotten him riled up if it were for Valerie looking very mad at him for insulting who he now had to assume is a friend of hers. He really didn't wanna anger Valerie. "I wouldn't expect a ruffian like you to understand anything about the fine art of sword fighting." at that, the shadow growled. Well and fully growled, sending a shiver down Roman's spine, filling him with fear and... Well he was going to ignore that other feeling for now and hopefully it would go away. "okay, fuck this. Val, can you untie his hands?" Valerie's eyes went wide. "Vee, you don't have to-" "no, I want to. It's worth it to get this asshole to shut up and show some respect." Roman would have said something if he weren't intrigued by the conversation. "alright, but I don't like this." "no one's gonna get hurt. I promise." as Valerie untied his hands she glared at him. "what? How was I supposed to know he'd react this way? Also what the hell is going on?" "you'll see in a second, just don't see this as a chance to try escaping again or I'll personally knock you unconscious." "noted." as the bindings were fully removed from his hands and Valerie backed away, Vee stepped out of the shadows, allowing Roman to see him for the first time. This was already a very big problem for Roman, as he was not prepared for how hot the rebel was. To make matters worse, Roman wasn't done checking him out sizing him up, when Vee pulled a sword from where it was resting on his hip, and he held it directly at Roman's throat, just inches away from grazing his skin. And that really should not have made the blood rush to the direction it did for Roman, but his body just had the worst timing. Luckily, somehow, he still managed to focus on Vee's next words.

"you wanted to fight face to face? Fine. I, Virgil Fabre, challenge you to a duel."

And that is when Roman realized his big mistake. Well, too late to back out now.

"I accept your challenge."

Remus was ecstatic, though. He immediately started feeling more at ease and free to be himself. He didn't even mind being tied up all that much, and he made sure to get that point across with a bunch of inappropriate humor that made everyone uncomfortable. Well all except for the two men who brought them to the camp, and a third, much cuter nerd, resembling the rebel in glasses but seemingly more stoic, but even he was clearly smiling at one of Remus's crass jokes. Their eyes locked and the serious rebel blushed and turned back to resume his conversation with the men he now knew as Remy and Emile. Fuck. Finding a way to enjoy being kidnapped while waiting to be rescued or until he found a way to escape? That was one thing. But crushing on one of the rebels who was holding him prisoner? Remus would have to be a fool to act on these emotions. He glanced the other way to check on his brother and asked why he was sword fighting with one of the rebels. After being updated on what happened, he sighs heavily. Well you know what? If Roman was allowed to be stupid, and they were truly equals in this forest, then dang it Remus can do whatever Roman can do if he damn well pleases. With this new conviction, he boldly strutted over to the handsome nerd, only for Emile to give him a death glare that immediately makes him turn around.

But he's far from giving up. They all are.

Anyway thats it for this au, for now (;

Let me know what you think and as always -

Stay Tuned!

[shoujocentral]

Symphogear S1- Now this is MY kind of anime!

Every once and awhile when I'd log onto Twitter, I'd see people saying "watch Symphogear" accompanied by images from the show. From looking at the pictures, I assumed it was just another magical girl show like Precure but with less magic and more... techno. Oh, and apparently they sing while they fight? Sounds kinda dumb...

Buuuut... I have heard that there's some yuri content? Maybe I'll give it a try. I mean, I'm always open to watching new stuff, even if it's just a silly little kid's show 😅

😳

Well........ color me hooked.

I have to say, this show is not at all what I was expecting in the best possible way. It feels a lot more like a Shounen action show along the lines of Fullmetal Alchemist or Neon Genesis Evangelion than a Magical Girl show (if that's even what it's supposed to be). Today, I'm going to be giving my first impressions of Senki Zesshou Symphogear season 1, which will be spoiler free for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Plot:

So what is Senki Zesshou Symphogear about?

In the not too distant future (next Sunday A.D.), Japan is under attack by monsters known as Noises, the likes of which cannot be killed by military weapons. The only thing that can kill them are girls clad in weaponized armor known as Gears, which is activated and powered by singing catchy techno-pop music.

One day, a girl named Hibiki Tachibana is caught in the middle of a battle, and one of the Gear users, Kanade Amou, sacrifices herself to save her. Two years later, Hibiki discovers that a piece of Kanade's Gear was embedded in her chest during the fight, giving her access to the Gear's powers. Hibiki is recruited by the Disaster Relief Squadron, the organization that created the Gears, to help defend Japan from the Noises.

However, Kanade's former girlfriend partner, Tsubasa Kazanari, sees Hibiki as nothing more than an obnoxious, naive girl trying to be Kanade's replacement. Will the two learn to work together, defeat the Noises, and possibly uncover a deeper plot to all the attacks?

Symphogear's plot might not be the most original thing ever; evil monsters attack, teenage girls transform into superpowered warriors to fight them, evil mastermind tries to take over the world, etc. But what makes this story stand out is it's unique approach to the fights. Having the Gears be powered by music, resulting in every fight being accompanied by a song, is either a genius way to amplify the fights, or a genius way for the producers to sell a techno soundtrack.

I was worried that the constant use of insert songs would become repetitive and annoying, but on the contrary, they heightened my enjoyment! The fights in Symphogear are easily my favorite part of the show: fast-paced, badass powers, lots of screaming, and downright brutal at times! Hibiki has officially joined the ranks of my all-time favorite battle cries, right up there with Goku from DBZ and Souma from Kannazuki no Miko.

If there was one thing I had to nitpick, it would be that most of the fights take away the credibility of the Noises. They're supposed to be this terrifying threat to Japan that can't be harmed by the military, but as soon as the Gear wielders show up, they're reduced to nothing more than cannon fodder as Hibiki and her comrades seem to waltz through them without breaking a sweat.

Thankfully, the versus matches between Gear wielders are much more balanced. My favorite has to be Hibiki vs Chris (see above), but then again, any fight with Chris is an absolute win!

Characters:

Hibiki Tachibana

Hibiki is your typical genki girl protagonist: optimistic, hyperactive, naive, and pure. What makes her a more compelling hero, however, is her slow growth into becoming a strong Gear wielder. Unlike most magical girl protagonists, who seem to master their powers after one line of "EH?! What just happened to me?!", Hibiki takes time to learn how to fight. She starts out with the mindset that she has to be Kanade's replacement and thus tries to fight just like her. However, she eventually comes to invent her own battle tactics that work much more in her favor. Mainly, punching the everloving shit out of everything in sight.

Hibiki is, in my opinion, a flat character done right. She doesn't go through any personal growth or development throughout the show (learning to fight doesn't count), but her belief that all humans can get along if they communicate and desire to protect people just because she wants to is the cause for most of the change in the people around her. The world is in a dark place, and Hibiki is the light. She doesn't need to change, because she's exactly what the world needs.

Tsubasa Kazanari

From what I've learned, Tsubasa is a favorite amongst Symphogear fans. Me personally, though, I have a few issues with her character. Now, I have nothing against brooding, damaged characters. In fact, Tsubasa's recovery from Kanade's death and learning to cherish her own life was incredibly engaging... for the most part. Sorry, but I can only take so much edge. Her constant repitition of "I am a sword, I exist only to fight" grew old after the first 10 or so times.

Also, while I love her overall development, I feel that her acceptance of Hibiki was a little rushed. For the first four episodes, she hates Hibiki for carrying Kanade's Gear to the point where she tries to fight her to the death. Then, after another fight sends her into a coma, she has a (extremely gay) hallucination of Kanade telling her to get over herself. Next episode, she's treating Hibiki as if they've been friends the whole time. Did I miss something? Did Hibiki even apologize for saying she wanted to replace Kanade? Did Tsubasa apologize for trying to shishkabob her?!

Development aside, her fighting style is awesome and unique, and leads to the best choreography in the show. Hopefully as I watch more seasons, my opinion of her will improve.

Chris Yukine

Best Girl. No questions. Anyone who disagrees is wrong. Deal with it.

Jokes aside, Chris is my favorite character of the show bar none. Maybe I just have a weakness for evil-turned-good characters, but I adored her "don't take no shit from nobody" attitude and her soft side emerging as the show progressed. And let me tell you, Tsubasa would have no right to brood if she knew what Chris went through as a child. I won't give anything away, but just a few brief images and harsh words were enough get the picture across and tug at my heartstrings.

She also had my favorite Gear and fighting style in the show. If there's one thing that always gets my blood pumping, it's gatling guns and an endless supply of missiles. Seriously, I could watch this girl fight for hours.

Kanade Amou

A moment of silence, ladies and gentlemen.

......

Kanade would be my favorite character if we had gotten more of her. But alas, she has to die in the very first episode. DAMN YOU, PLOT!!!

Even though we get very little of Kanade, she makes it her mission to leave a lasting impression. Her sacrifice at the beginning sets the tone for the rest of the show, and her flashback is the best of the bunch. I got hard chills when she transformed for the first time. Let's just say she's psychotic in all the right ways.

Kanade died for our sins. Remember that... 🙏

Finé

Our main villain of the show. That's it. There's really nothing much else to her. She's cruel, manipulative, and powerful beyond belief, as most big bosses of these kinds of shows are. She was honestly my least favorite part of the show.

Fine's motivation is incredibly confusing on first watch. I had to go back to pause and read the subtitles multiple times to understand her backstory, but maybe that's my fault for being a slow reader. On the other hand, the explanation as to who she is and why she's so powerful comes right out of nowhere and doesn't seem to connect to anything the story had been building up to that point. Also, by the time I understood her motivation and actually found it a little intriguing, she dropped the dreaded "I'm going to take over the world" line. Aaaaand.... all my interest just went out the window.

There is a twist involving her connection to a certain other character in the show that I genuinely didn't see coming, but in the end, it wasn't nearly enough to make up for her shortcomings.

Miku Kohinata

God bless this little angel. Miku is a precious cinnamon roll who must be protected at all costs. Thankfully, Hibiki's got it covered 👍

Words cannot express how much I love this girl. She may be only a supporting role for the time being, but good lord, does she support! It always broke my heart whenever she tried to spend time with Hibiki or talk to her, but the Disaster Relief Squad kept pulling them apart. I know DRS is classified, but Miku deserves better than to have secrets kept from her! Life sucks when your girlfriend best friend is a superhero...

Well, that was a mouthful. There's a lot more characters in this show, but I don't really have much to say about them. However, while we're on the subject of Miku, let's move on to the reason I checked this show out in the first place, and the reason I'm sure most of you read my stuff.

Yuri:

No sooner did I finish this show did I start looking up HibiMiku fanart 😍

I was expecting a fair dosage of yuribait going into Symphogear, but mother of all that is gay, did I get an overdose!

First and foremost, the main ship: HibiMiku. These two are dating. Nothing anyone says will change my mind. They compliment each other perfectly, with Hibiki's energy and Miku's sweetness... HHNNNGGH! IT'S TOO PRECIOUS! I sincerely hope these two get more time together in the next few seasons. Now if only they'd stop with the damn F word...... 😡

Next up, TsubaKana. This one seems more like it was one-sided feelings on Tsubasa's part, judging by how dedicated Kanade was to fighting the Noise. Regardless, you don't just lose all sense of your humanity and self-worth after your "partner" dies. And all that hardcore blushing in the flashbacks and naked cuddling dream sequences... nah, Tsubasa was hella hot for Kanade. Sadly, our lord and savior was taken from Ms. Brooding too soon.

Finally, there's Ryoko Sakurai, the DRS's head scientist. She was initially hinted to be gay, what with her being all too eager to have Hibiki undress and wanting to "pop her cherry" (yes, an adult said that to a 15 year-old). However, after a certain conversation occurred, it seemed more like she was straight or at least bisexual, if all that dirty talk wasn't just teasing.

I've heard future seasons introduce more potential couples, so I'm keeping my eyes open and my yuri goggles on tight 😋

Conclusion:

I enjoyed the first season of Senki Zesshou Symphogear through and through. As someone who enjoyed Akanesasu Shoujo and Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka, I have a soft spot for shows about badass girls kicking monster ass and unleashing their inner yuri. Overall though, I think Symphogear might be my favorite of the bunch so far. It has its fair share of flaws, sure, but I think its positives outweigh the negatives by a long shot. If I got this much enjoyment out of the first season, I cannot wait to see what the following seasons have to offer!

Symphogear delivers a fun, action-packed story with colorful characters, kickass fight scenes, head-banging music and plenty of yuri content. Anyone who loves Magical Girls or Shounen battle shows needs to check it out!

Rating: 8/10

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go binge Symphogear G. See you next time, my fellow yuri lovers!

[catferro]

Timeframe:  Sometime earlier this year

Location: Tina's apartment

People: Ryan Pierce & Tina Cohen-Chang

Third time is the charm. That's what people always say, right? So wouldn't it make sense to assume it would also be the case for Ryan and Tina's relationship?  Ever since they got together a few years back, they've had their ups and downs. They've broken up and gotten back together, over and over again. Each time they broke up, however, made a bigger dent in each of their hearts. Angry words, spiteful comments, and unreasonable assumptions were all made in the heat of the moment, but each time they managed to get through it together. But this time? This time, reconciliation didn't seem all that likely...

Ryan fought to not raise his voice but the frustration was getting the best of him. Brashly, he ran a hand roughly through his hair, leaving odd pieces of hair sticking out from its usual coiffed shape. "Tina... baby, please. Can we just talk about this? I don't, I don't understand why all of a sudden, you're making that kind of accusation. I just want to understand, please... I know you're angry, but I can't understand if you won't talk to me."

Tina crossed her arms across her chest, not here for his baby, please. Not this time. He couldn't just nice it all away. "I've been talking, Ryan. You're not listening," she insisted, though she knew on some level her thoughts had been far from complete. "I see you flirting and charming every person that walks through the doors. The exact same flirt and charm that gets me hook, line, and sinker. What am I supposed to think?"

Ryan, with a frown marring his normally bright and open face, peered at Tina from his seated position in front of her. How did things get so wrong so quickly?  "That I am absolutely and irrevocably in love with you? That you're the one who brightens up my day just by showing up?" He had no idea that being himself bothered Tina so much. This was his personality and he thought she knew that from the beginning. What kind of person would he be if he had to stopped being this way? Was he willing to compromise his own personality for her? Thousands of questions rushed through his mind and it was getting far too overwhelming. All he wanted was to be with Tina, why couldn't she see that?

Tina closed her eyes, her head shaking at his remarks. Whether his remarks were true or not, it didn't do anything to dissuade the remarks she'd made. What was she supposed to do? Let his love for her blind her to the fact that he'd chat up anything that breathed? "I love you too. I do, but I just... It's one thing to be the friendly doorman, it's another to try to be getting an invite to open doors back at their place," she accused, and maybe it was a stretch. Maybe. She knew he was a charmer, god did she ever, but until they started working at the same place, she hadn't had to witness the way other girls preened under his attention. She hadn't thought herself the jealous type, but then again, she knew she still had plenty to learn about herself.

Tina's words hit Ryan like a bullet speed train, leaving him jaw slacked and unable to breathe. It was like an insurmountable weight was sitting on his chest; it hurts so much. After everything that they've been through, the previous separations, their reconciliations, every good and bad... How could she even think that he would cheat on her? "How could you say something like that?" He asked incredulously. "You're the only girl I've ever loved to such a degree. I'm sorry that my inaction have allowed you to draw such a conclusion, but god dammit, Tina! I love you! I'm so in love with you that I can't go one minute without thinking about you!" Feeling choked up, Ryan bowed his head and allowed the tears to well up in his eyes. "I would never cheat on you... or even entertain such a preposterous idea..."

Tina could only stare him down as he spoke, feeling her gut twist as he did.  She knew he was telling the truth, despite the jealousy that was still brewing inside of her. Ryan probably did have endless opportunities to cheat on her, but he wouldn't. But not trusting him and the girls and guys that swooned when his eyes sparkled in the afternoon sun was easier than admitting she didn't trust herself. Not to cheat, she was undoubtedly faithful to Ryan, but to be faithful to herself. To not lose herself in a boy or a romance. To just become his or the better half.  Accusations were definitely easier, until he looked the way he looked when he heard them.  "You're not standing where I'm standing. They eat up every word you say."

Ryan was a giant ball of emotion, and it was wrecking his concentration. He was desolated by the things Tina was saying, so much so that he could feel himself getting angry. The last thing he ever wanted to be was angry with her. "No, I'm not, but what I'm getting out of this is that you want me to change who I am fundamentally. Can't you see that you're everything I want and need? You're more than enough for me. Yes, I'm affectionate with others, but even when I'm with them, I'm with you!" His voice began to raise.

Tina raised an eyebrow then. “So you are with them, then?” she challenged, voluntarily twisting his words. “Do you tell them you have a girlfriend or do you just let them assume your bachelor status?” She was pacing at this point. The frustration and uncertainty were bubbling right underneath the surface while consequence had escaped her mind. “If I’m everything, why do you need to entertain their whims?”

It would be a lie to say that Tina's words didn't hurt, every accusation chipped away at Ryan's heart. To know that he can inspire such hostility from the woman he loves is almost unbearable. But it was that woundedness in her voice that made him feel helpless to try and remedy whatever is going on as soon as possible. The questions were coming from all over the places, places that Ryan had difficulties to reconcile that it was even Tina that he's talking to. "I have made it very clear to everyone who asks that I am yours." Ryan did his best to temper his tone with love and patience, void of any bitterness or condescension; he just wanted to make her see the situation as he did. That his every word, his every action with others stemmed from a place of respect and comradery. "I know my job doesn't exactly allow me to spend time with you whenever you're there, but please, please know that there isn't anyone else for me."

Turning to look at Ryan again, Tina propped a hand on her hip. "So, what about the ones that don't ask? Then it's all just best kept secret?" This conversation was going nowhere, and everything he said just frustrated her more.. Not to mention how level he still sounded. Yes, she could see the hurt in his eyes, but wasn't she worth actually fighting with - fighting for? "You thinking I'm making up stories in my head because I'm lonely? It's not like I'm some pathetic girl waiting by the phone for you to call me. I have a life outside of you."

Ryan wrung his hands together in frustration and exhaled through his nose. God is really testing him; how could they give him the greatest gift of all only to cruelly rip it away from him every single time he got so close? Things were getting louder and louder inside his head, he didn't even know if it was voices or just white noise, but it was all too overwhelming. "I have never once thought that you're not perfectly capable on your own, Tina! You're an inspiration to many, but more importantly, you inspire me to be a better person so that I may be worthy of being next to you." Curling his hands into a tight fist in another attempt to remain calm and not fall into a shouting match with Tina, because that helps nobody and nothing. "You do understand that... It does occur to you, hopefully, that you realize I have feelings too," Even with his nails digging into his palm, Ryan could feel his hands shake, his breathing uneven, his jaw clenched tight; it was almost like he was getting unhinged. "When you say something like that." He bit out just shy of angrily.

Tina pursed her lips, considering what he’d said and only feeling the wheels turn more quickly in her head. “So now I’m making things up because you don’t spend enough time with me AND I’m completely unaware of your feelings,” she recounted, using her fingers to list off the so-called accusations. Her hands dropped, clapping against her sides as she groaned in frustration. The fight had yet to be the same when they’d broken up, but the pulse through her veins was all too familiar. The stab low in her gut. “If it’s so much work to be with me, then maybe you just shouldn’t be,” Tina finally challenged.

What else was there left to say? Everything Tina has said thus far has solidify the fact that they shouldn't be together. Every single time something of importance happens in their relationship, they fail to overcome the hurdle together. It was always the same thing, rinse and repeat. Really, Ryan should just cut his losses and find someone else. Someone who wouldn't break up with him because he said he loved her for the first time. Someone who wouldn't say these hurtful baseless things simply because they can. By all accounts, they should just be done with each other. But he didn't want to. It all sounds logical and reasonable but it went against every fiber that made up who Ryan is. "But can't you see, Tina, that all I ever wanted was to be with you?!" He yelled out, letting all his frustration pour out. "All I ever wanted was to make a life with you! Why can't you see that you're the person I want to marry and grow old with?" Silence reigned between them after his outburst. His chest was heaving from his uneven breathing and his heart pounded loudly in his ears. Taking a deep breath, Ryan kneeled down in front of Tina, and said softly, "I want to marry you, Tina. I want to be there for you through every high and every low. I want to share every part of my life with you. I never want there be a reason for you to ever doubt my devotion for you, and if that means taking any and all the oaths with you, then I want nothing more. I can wait forever for you, but I just need there to be a reason to wait. Because I can't.. I don't want to live without you." Reaching out, he held Tina's hands in his palms. "So, will you marry me?" He looked on, half terrified and half hopeful.

The yelling was enough to stop Tina where she stood, a look of shock on her face as she met his eyes. Ryan never yelled. She tried to find the words to say next, the snappy comeback she always had in her back pocket, but it was gone. This man that she loved, and she did. She did love him. This man she loved kneeling in front of her, saying the sweetest words any person should want to hear, took her words away. Under different circumstances, she might have said yes. Might. He would have said the same words and had a beautiful ring and she’d have wiped away a tear as she only nodded her response. Sealed with a kiss. Happily ever after. But no. This was not that. A proposal was not the solution to an argument. What life would they be building if this was the foundation? Tears pricked at Tina’s eyes all the same, but from sadness instead of joy. She tugged her hands from his gently, shaking her head and taking a few steps back. “I can’t,” she finally said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “No.”

Ryan stayed kneeling for a good few minutes, he made no attempt to wipe away the tears that were freely rolling down his face. Why should he bother to hide the pain that he's in? Swallowing thickly, he finally tore his eyes away from Tina and stood up shakily. His mouth opened and closed, as though he wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came of it. So what now? "Do you... Should I leave?" His voice croaked from how choked up he was.

Tina ’s arms hugged around herself. The pain in her chest new and unsettling. Every time they’d broken up had been hurtful, and for both of them she knew, but this was different. She sniffed back tears as he stood and nodded. “I don’t think there’s anything else to say,” she stated, trying to sound more confident in the point than she was. “I’m sorry, Ryan.”

Shaking his head, Ryan could say nothing else, "It wasn't your fault, please don't think that." He wanted to just cut across this despicable distance that's separating them and hold her in his arms. Wiping away his tears, Ryan nodded in assent. "Take care of yourself, please." With great difficulty, Ryan took one last, long look at Tina, wanting to etch every little thing into his memory. This was the end, it felt like it was the end every other time, but this time it really felt like someone ripped his heart out and ran it through a shredder. It hurt, it hurt so damn much. Regardless of how much he wanted to just say fuck it and take everything back just so they could be back to the smooth sailing times, he knew he had to go; for Tina's sake, for his own sake. He can't be the person that makes her life difficult just because he couldn't accept the fact that she's no longer with him. Ripping his gaze one last time, Ryan turned about face and with heavy feet, he walked out.

[faint-waves-music]

Discussing Far East Winter.

My new EP, Far East Winter has been a very interesting EP to make and because of that, I wanted to write something of an article in regards to it. So, here we are! I'm going to discuss the background of this EP, my influences, inspirations, some of the ideas I had with this record, a short run through of each track, and a few things I learned along the way. Hopefully this is an informative and interesting read and hopefully you enjoy the record, too.

I had contemplated doing an EP of this nature for some time, in fact, you can hear my earliest inclinations toward this idea on my "Cherry Blossom" single from 2017. I've always been a lover and admirer of sounds from all over the world, but music and sounds from the East and the far East have always really caught my ear. I think so many of the instruments and the scales/notation they tend to use are absolutely beautiful. The only reason I hadn't done this sooner, is because I didn't want to do this just to do it and because I'm not sure I was totally ready to. If I was going to do it, I wanted to do it some semblance of justice. If "Cherry Blossom" was me seeing if I could pull it off at all, "Far East Winter" is the more refined, realized vision of incorporating these elements into my music.

As far as who/what inspired and influenced this record, I'd say it was a good mixture of eastern and non-eastern artists. Many of my ideas were informed by Roxy Music, Prefab Sprout, Tears For Fears, Vangelis, Hiroshima, Kitaro, Hiromitsu Agatsuma, and Himekami, just to name a few. I was in a creative space where I also wanted to kind of continue the easy listening/downtempo/adult contemporary-inspired direction I've been taking Faint Waves since 2017, but I had to do something interesting to really change the pace a bit and since I wanted to do a winter release, I knew the sound couldn't just be sunshine and ocean waves. The result is a more winter-into-spring sounding EP, not necessarily dark or discordant sounding, but a bit more bittersweet and melancholy in places. That's not to say there aren't hopeful moments, as the first and final tracks on the EP are a bit more optimistic than the rest, indicating glimmers of hope amongst the moodier parts of the record.

Much of the record I think has a very soft rock and sophistipop vibe, but there are few moments that are a bit more downtempo, new age, or experimental. I also made some stylistic choices on this EP that kind of set it apart from other things I've done, namely with the drums and bass. I've often relied on a fretless bass emulation for many (the vast majority, actually) of my songs, it's been a tried and true element and staple in the music I've made. However, I felt this record warranted something different, so I've switched things up and used a finger style bass emulation. It has a much deeper sound and I think has given the record a bit more of a soft rock or vintage R&B vibe. As for the drums, I made a similar stylistic decision to go after more of an organic feel. So, rather than using solely Roland and Linn samples as I have in the past, I opted to use more live sounds. That doesn't mean I haven't used those Roland and Linn samples at all, as they're still in the mix. Many of the songs feature a live kick drum layered with a Linn kick and on "Lovers In The Cold", you can very clearly hear the use of a CR-78 hat sample alongside the rest of the drums. Small changes in the grand scheme of things but I think they've made a big difference in the overall feel of the EP.

The first song I had completed and the one that really solidified the fact that I was doing this, was "Lovers In The Cold", which ironically became the last track on the EP. "Lovers In The Cold" is a bit of a sophistipop track with both western and eastern instrumentation, including a Xylophone, Sax, an Erhu (a violin-like instrument of Chinese origin), and a brilliant emulation of the Ruan (a plucked instrument of Chinese origin). I'd say the sound and structure were most influenced by acts like Hiroshima and Roxy Music, while the blocky pad chords remind me more of Prefab Sprout. It's definitely a pretty layered track for me, lots of moving parts. The way I've always seen the song, structurally, is as an argument between two lovers. Xylophone is one party, while the Erhu is another. The Xylophone is very quick moving and aggressive but the Erhu is more relaxed and to the point. They have this back and forth, but every other time the Erhu comes in, there's one extra note that wasn't played the previous time. So, it's almost like someone is getting the last word in there. Then, you have this kind of breakdown in the song where everything slows down a bit and rather than them playing separately, you have the Xylophone and the Erhu playing simultaneously. Going along with the two lovers metaphor, that part of the song could be them reconciling, working together to make things work before everything falls apart again.

There were a lot of demos with this EP, more than maybe any other EP I've ever made. A lot of stuff didn't make the cut or just plain didn't get finished. The next track that saw completion after "Lovers In The Cold" was probably the fourth song I had made overall and it's a tracked called "Only Tonight", which was loosely inspired by "Advice For The Young At Heart" by Tears For Fears. This track was one that definitely went through a lot of changes before it became what it was. It started out very synthpop, with these big electronic strings, before I transitioned to a more organ-centric sound. It took quite a few demos for it to start to take shape as it is now, a piano ballad. I think after the organ became integral to the song, the drums were what really started to make it take shape. Those drums, at least where they start initially, have a very Burt Bacharach feel. That shaker-sidestick combo he's so fond of. It starts in that kind of Bacharach-like place but as the track goes on, the drums get a little more aggressive and eventually the sidestick is replaced with a snare. For the piano, I didn't want a big sound because the organ/bass combo was already doing that for me, so it's pretty much this continuous riff of single notes. Then the piano is accompanied by a Shamisen (a stringed instrument of Japanese origin) and later on, a sax. The track also features a Vibraphone and a Gong sample. The Vibraphone is this kind of arpeggiated-sounding series of a few notes, it really gives the track an underlying sense of movement and urgency. "Only Tonight" is an interesting one because I feel like it became what it is very naturally, but it did take some time to get there. Glad I didn't give up on it though, as it's a favorite of mine.

After that, I think came "Snow Summit", which also went through a lot of changes as it went on. It's kind of a weird one. It doesn't sound like it at all, but it was pretty Vangelis inspired. Vangelis, Yello, and Kitaro are the big inspirations for that one. It went through a lot of changes and I don't think I was ever really sure the track "worked", so to speak. Once I laid down the bass for it, I feel like it all clicked a bit better, but it's still by far one of the most oddball tracks I've ever produced. It was inspired by a Yello song called "Homer Hossa", which if you aren't familiar with, is basically just a lot of sound effects, percussion, and little actual melody. "Snow Summit" is kind of that way, except it basically has this big brass backing track accompanying all these weird sounds. I think my intention with it, is that I wanted it to be as foreboding and endless feeling as the summit of a mountain would be. You're cold, the wind is blowing, there's snow everywhere, and you can see for literally miles. That kind of thing is intimidating and I think I wanted to convey that with this noisy, aimless kind of a track. It's probably the most "experimental" thing I've done. Huge brass, eastern percussion, simulated wind, white noise stabs, and huge bass drops. That's "Snow Summit" in a nutshell.

After that, came "Hatsukoi". Hatsukoi translates to first love, if you're curious. I knew I wanted a beautiful opening song for the EP and after drawing a blank for a long time, this is what materialized. Inspired by Kitaro and to a lesser extent Himekami, "Hatsukoi" is a bit of a new age jaunt. It's basically comprised of strings, a few different kinds of percussion (both eastern and western), a Celeste, a Pipa (a four stringed instrument of Chinese origin), a Xylophone, wave sfx, and bird sfx. This track doesn't really develop beyond the first couple minutes, but I found it very lovely and relaxing and didn't feel the need to add to it. I had a few demos where a flute came in the second half but it was just overkill in my opinion. It's a bit more hopeful and warm than everything else on the EP. It's very much in line with some of the more atmospheric, new age inspired things I've done. It's very much Kitaro by way of Faint Waves, in my opinion. I'd love to explore that kind of sound more in the future, to the degree of acts like Kitaro or Himekami. That kind of Electronica-meets-New Age-and-Classical sound is always brilliant. Exploring that sort of thing could be an EP or album in it's own right, but for this release, I wanted a balance of downtempo/chilled vignettes with more deliberate/aggressive songs.

The next song that came to be was actually an older, unfinished demo that I had lying around. "Tao Of Knowing" originally started as "Charm", a new wave/sophistipop song inspired by Johnny Hates Jazz and Tango In The Night-era Fleetwood Mac. "Charm" was originally much more electronic and instead of a Koto (a stringed instrument of Japanese origin) carrying the song, it was a piano. I revisited this song during my time producing Far East Winter and I found, with a few changes, that it would fit the record. I changed quite a few things; the key changed, the chiffer lead at the beginning of the song became a Shakuhachi (a flute-like instrument of Japanese origin, derived from the Chinese bamboo flute), the main piano riff became a Koto, the poppy drum samples were replaced with the ones I was using for this EP, and I wound up writing a new pad for it as well. Once I had made those changes, the song still went through a few more permutations before it became the song you hear on Far East Winter. The song has a very mystical feel and I think that sets it apart on the EP, in a good way. The original demo had a very new wave feel to it and I think a little bit of that is still intact, particularly in the drums. This one may also be one of the more aggressive sounding songs in the Faint Waves canon, too. Very in your face at times.

The last song to be completed was "City Street". I knew from the beginning that "City Street" was going to be a short interlude kind of a song. My general vision for it from the get go was very similar to how it came to be, I knew I wanted to be very ambient and atmospheric, and to feature a Rhodes. That's exactly how it turned out but I just couldn't seem to get it to materialize. At first, I tried to make the song quicker and more urban sounding, to coincide with the name. It just wasn't working, so I scrapped almost everything except the percussion I had. The percussion I did have, I wound up changing quite a bit, leaving pretty much the bare minimum. Once I was happy with the percussion, I layered a few different sound effects. One was of nighttime ambience (crickets/frogs/etc.), another was just general city noise, and the final was of a little bit of traffic. After that came the Rhodes, which I pretty much treated almost as a pad as I wrote and produced it. I applied a lot of effects to it, reverb and delay mostly, so it would kind of linger well beyond the length of the notes would allow. On top of that, I used a Pipa again, I actually recycled a melody from another song of mine ("Congo") for that and adjusted the notes accordingly. The end result is a very soundscapey interlude that's heavy on ambiance, maybe slightly reminiscent of Kenji Kawai. Good for falling asleep to maybe, as much of my catalogue is.

In conclusion, I learned a lot going into this EP and coming out of it. I did a lot of reading and listening, trying to understand what they were doing as far as Eastern instrumentation and notation were concerned. Reading and learning about scales like the Japanese In Sen scale, as well as putting them to use, was incredibly challenging and fun. I made more songs for this one EP, than I have any release before, and it's because of what I was working with. There's a real beauty and true uniqueness to the music and culture on that side of the world that we don't often see. They do things in music that the West never has and likely, never will. I think my research and desire to understand, is what made this EP so special to me, as well as what has made the EP sound so unique in comparison to the rest of my material. I might have done some familiar things but I don't think I've ever made anything similar to what I've made here. In many ways, I feel like I needed to do a project like this, just to stretch my legs a bit and get out of my comfort zone. This record is a sign of things to come, not in the sense that I'll necessarily be making another record like this, but in the sense that my next record will be just as different. So, stay on your toes and enjoy.

- Faint Waves.